


Lester's Day Out

by cordeliadelayne



Category: Primeval
Genre: Action/Adventure, Being Hunted, Dinosaurs, Gen, Lester being competent with a gun, Lester in the field, Lester's a good boss, Protective Ryan, Raptors, ryan shooting things, team as prey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 08:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6367963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lester learns the hard way that it's probably better he stay in his office.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lester's Day Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [knitekat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/knitekat/gifts).



> Written for the lovely knitekat for having come joint second in primeval100's 300th drabble challenge! She gave the prompt "hunting or stalking". Originally posted to Livejournal in 2013.

“I fail to see why this requires my presence,” Lester said, for the fourth time. Not that Ryan had been counting. Instead he had been coming up with new and inventive ways of killing someone using only his right foot.

“Claudia thought you'd make a better impression than Cutter,” Ryan said.

“Well,” Lester preened a little, straightening his tie, “that surely goes without saying.”

Ryan was stopped from commenting by the approach of Inspector Bartolli. A stout man with greying hair and a decided waddle to his gait, he was leading the investigation into the disappearance of three women which had come to the team's attention via a Helen-shaped tip-off. Ryan didn't trust the woman as far as he could spit but ignoring her warnings wasn't really an option either.

“Inspector,” Lester said, reaching out his hand which Bartolli shook with a firm grasp, “James Lester. This is Captain Ryan.”

“What's the army's involvement in all this?” The Inspector asked, not beating about the bush. Ryan immediately decided he liked him.

“As I'm sure Miss Brown explained,” Lester began, launching smoothly into his role, “an escaped animal from a -”

The Inspector raised a hand and Lester stopped talking as if a string had been cut; Ryan would have to remember that.

“I didn't get to the rank of Inspector by believing the bullshit civil servants spout out of their arse. What's really going on?”

Ryan had to turn away to stifle a very unprofessional laugh. Lester was not so amused.

“I'm not sure you understand the gravity of the situation...”

“Really? I think you're the one who doesn't understand. I have two civilians and one of my officers missing, and another officer in a critical condition in hospital. I'm the one who's going to have to tell her family that she may never walk again. I want answers. And I want them now.”

Lester looked truly uncomfortable for the first time. Ryan edged closer to the Inspector, indicating exactly which side he was going to come down on this one. There was no sense lying to Bartolli if they didn’t have to.

“Very well.” Lester looked around, trying to spot Claudia in the crowd. “You will of course have to sign the Official Secrets Act.”

“Naturally,” Bartolli drawled.

“We work for something called the Anomaly Project. It investigates rips in time and space...”

“What?”

“...These rips lead to times in our history and future which allow creatures to come through. Dinosaurs mainly.”

“What?” Bartolli asked again. He turned to Ryan and then back to Lester. Neither of them looked like they were joking, and it was too late in the year to be an April Fool's joke.

“What attacked your people was some sort of creature,” Lester continued.

“And the others...they're _trapped_ in the past?”

“Yes.”

Bartolli took a deep breath. “All right. How do we get them back?”

If Lester was surprised by how easily his story had been believed, he didn't show it. “That's rather our purview, thank you, Inspector...”

“I'm just going to trust your word on that, am I?” Bartolli interrupted.

“We know what we're doing, sir,” Ryan said. “We'll get them back.”

“Yes, _we_ will.”

Ryan just about managed not to roll his eyes right out of his head. What was it with the Anomaly Project bringing out the self sacrifice in people?

“Sir - "

Whatever argument Ryan was going to come up with, and he wasn't sure himself as he opened his mouth, was cut short by a call that sent shivers down Ryan's spine. It was one he'd heard once before, and had hoped never to hear again.

“What - " Lester started to ask but Ryan raised a hand and Lester fell silent.

“Raptors.”

All the colour drained from Lester's face. He hadn't been there when the raptors had attacked last time, but the reports had been harrowing enough. Artem had lost a couple of toes and Stephen had a gash on his back that would never completely heal.

“What do we do?” Bartolli asked in a quiet whisper. He hadn't moved an inch since they'd heard the cries. Ryan was impressed.

“We need to try and get to the cars,” Ryan whispered back. He took his gun out from its holster, checking it was loaded even though he knew perfectly well that it was. The regular motion helped calm his nerves though. Even now after all these creature incursions, Ryan never allowed himself to become complaisant. The minute you stopped fearing these things was the minute you got eaten.

“All right, move,” Ryan said after a beat. He hustled Bartolli and Lester in the direction of their car but sudden movement from the right had him grabbing at Lester's jacket and shouting at both men to get down. They did so just in time as something small and furry barrelled out of the undergrowth, followed by a hungry looking raptor.

The raptor turned to look at the three men, its mouth opening wide, only to fall to one side, its head a mangled mess of blood and bone. Ryan paused to reload and shouted at the others to move.

Somewhere in the distance he could hear his men shouting at the sound of gunfire; help would be on its way soon enough. But then he saw the other raptors, two of them, clambering on top of their car and though he hated to admit it, they were far too exposed out here.

“Take a right,” Ryan shouted and fired at one of the raptors, just missing it as it lunged for Bartolli, who scrambled out of the way just in time. “Right, right,” Ryan shouted again and reached for his radio. He was vaguely aware of going through the motions of calling for back-up, even as he spotted another couple of raptors coming out of god knows where. He rather suspected the rest of the team would have their hands full.

“Where the hell are they coming from?” Lester panted as Ryan caught up with him.

“Damned if I know, sir,” he replied, dragging Lester through the undergrowth. They were making far too much noise but Ryan didn't know of any other option right now. He tried to focus on what Connor had told him about raptors the last time. They hunted in packs. They were fast, so outrunning them might be a problem, especially the way Bartolli was puffing away as if one step away from a heart attack. And, he realised, as he turned around to see what was going on, they could climb trees.

“Shit.”

“What?” Lester asked. “Ryan, what?”

“Nothing, we're fine.”

“Fine appears to be a relative term, captain. I would say...this was very much not fine.”

Ryan was impressed that Lester could even get a sentence out considering the pace they were currently running. Which is when he realised that Bartolli was no longer with them.

He grabbed Lester's arm and dragged him through into the nearest bushes, ignoring the sting of branches about his face. Even Lester kept quiet and Ryan decided that there were worse people to work for.

Lester's eyes were wide and his breathing shallow, but he followed Ryan's every direction. Ryan hesitated only a moment before handing Lester the gun he kept in his ankle holster. Lester checked it professionally and Ryan decided that that there were _definitely_ worse people to work for.

Ryan leaned in close to whisper instructions to Lester but there was an ominous call off to their left, followed by a shout.

“Was that - ?” Lester whispered.

Ryan shook his head. “I don't know.” He was charged with protecting the members of the Anomaly Project, and that meant Lester. If he left Lester to check on Bartolli, that would be leaving Lester vulnerable. And he wouldn't do that.

“You should - " Lester started to say but Ryan cut him off.

“No, sir. You're my priority.” He swallowed hard. “There probably isn't anything we could do for him anyway.” He fumbled inside his jacket and handed over his radio. “Try and get someone on that, quietly. And don't move. I won't be going far.”

Lester nodded and began trying to rouse some help. Ryan's team had to be there somewhere, looking for them. It wouldn't take them long, he hoped.

Ryan shuffled carefully to the edge of the bushes so that he could look out and try and get his bearings. He really hated the missions where he was the prey.

Two raptors were standing in the clearing right in front of him, pressed close together. It almost looked like they were talking together, though Ryan was fairly sure that was just him projecting human traits on to them; Cutter had given a lecture about it before one of their de-briefings once, though Ryan had spent most of it wondering whether Abby and Connor had had sex yet.

He doubted he could get a shot off without having all the others coming down on them, and he had no desire to be at the end of one of those fearsome looking claws. He tried not to think about whether Bartolli had, he needed a clear head to create a viable escape plan.

There was a smothered sound from behind him and he froze. Human or creature, he couldn't tell. He spun around and found a raptor staring straight at him. It opened its mouth, to call out Ryan guessed, and Ryan smashed the butt of his gun into its head, again and again and again until it fell to the ground.

Breathing deeply Ryan moved quickly towards where he'd left Lester.

He wasn't there.

“Damn it,” Ryan muttered under his breath. “Where the hell has he gone?”

Gunshots off to his right had him moving out of cover and running as fast as he could. Suddenly he found himself being flung to the floor and rolling over and over with something pushing him down. He tried to reach for his gun but his arm was trapped. Trying not to panic and preparing himself to be ripped to shreds he opened up eyes he hadn't realised he'd screwed shut.

“Are you all right?”

“Lester? Bloody hell...Get off me.”

He shoved at Lester with his legs and Lester moved away with a grimace. That's when Ryan spotted the blood.

“You're hurt. What happened?”

“I'm fine,” Lester replied. He batted Ryan's hand away. “It's nothing.”

“Nothing? You...” He stopped talking and turned his head to his left, and then to his right. Two raptors were staring at them, and they looked hungry.

“Do you still have your gun?” Ryan whispered. Lester shook his head. “Stay low.”

He drew his gun and put himself between Lester and the closest raptor, firing straight at its head. It dropped straight away and he twisted to shoot at the other one, but someone else got there first and the creature fell to the floor, dead.

“Need a hand?”

Ryan looked up in disbelief as Bartolli offered him a hand up; in his other hand he was holding the gun Ryan had given Lester. The policeman looked like he'd been dragged through a hedge, his shirt and trousers were ripped and he had blood dripping down his neck from a nasty looking wound, but he was undeniably very much alive.

“I see the police aren't completely useless,” Lester said, dusting himself off and attempting, but failing, to stand.

“Not completely,” Bartolli agreed, smiling at Ryan. “Come on, we need to get patched up.”

“What about the other raptors?” Ryan asked.

“Your team are dealing with them,” Bartolli said. Ryan realised that now the adrenaline was wearing off he could hear the familiar shouts of the Anomaly team corralling the remaining raptors back to where they'd come from. He sighed and then looked at the two dead raptors; he really hoped he wasn't going to have to explain the need to kill them to Cutter.

“Good,” Ryan said. He looked over at Lester. “What happened to you?”

“I got into a disagreement with a raptor, what do you think happened to me,” Lester snapped. He winced and Ryan moved closer, ignoring Lester's protests to get a better look at his shoulder. “I hate dinosaurs,” Lester muttered at him.

“Well, you’ll live,” Ryan declared, “just.”

“Ryan, Lester, where are you?”

“Here, Stephen, we're over here.”

Stephen came bounding towards them, rifle slung over his shoulder and Claudia following along a little behind. Ryan had never been happier to see them.

“How you doing?” Stephen asked them all as he approached.

“I won't dignify that with an answer,” Lester said.

Stephen grinned at Ryan. “So we're bringing Lester out into the field more often, then?”

“Absolutely not,” Lester and Ryan said together.

“What's so funny?” Claudia asked as she joined them, which only made Stephen and Bartolli laugh the harder. Claudia sighed and muttered something very unladylike under her breath. “Glad to see you're all right. I just came to let the Inspector know that we got everybody back from the anomaly. They're unhurt, if a little confused...Speaking of hurt...Come on, we have ambulances waiting.” She took Bartolli's arm and almost dragged him out of the forest. She aimed a glare at Ryan and he and Stephen started to help Lester.

“I'm glad you're okay,” Stephen said, more seriously, to the both of them. “We _were_ worried.”

“Yes, well,” Lester said, “I'd hate to think of the chaos Cutter would do if I wasn't around to reign him in.”

As they walked out of the forest, back to where their cars were parked, they could quite clearly hear Cutter engaged in a very vocal argument with an apparently curious onlooker.

“Yeah,” Stephen said, “just think of how many more people he'd be shouting at.”

Lester rolled his eyes as Stephen jogged over to Cutter. “There better be drugs in that ambulance. Lots and lots of drugs.”

Ryan silently hoped there were too but instead he just continued to help Lester to the waiting ambulance. And vowed never to let Lester out of the office, ever again.


End file.
